DirectTrust and the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation, GLEIF, are developing a Qualification Agent model to expand the issuance of verifiable organizational identity credentials. The partnership focuses on U.S. healthcare, where providers, insurers, pharmacies and technology vendors need to verify the organizations exchanging sensitive patient information.
The proposed model adds a qualification layer within GLEIF’s verifiable Legal Entity Identifier, or vLEI, governance framework. GLEIF would qualify Qualification Agents, which would then qualify vLEI issuers within their networks. Those agents would monitor the issuers they qualify, while GLEIF would oversee the agents.
The model is intended for organizations with established certification or accreditation capabilities. DirectTrust is a nonprofit alliance, accreditation and certification body, and ANSI standards development organization. The new model would complement GLEIF’s existing issuer qualification approach. GLEIF is developing the governance, qualification and oversight requirements, and the relevant ecosystem framework documents would need updating.
DirectTrust has not yet been appointed to the new role. Once appointed, it would be able to qualify organizations in its network as vLEI issuers under GLEIF’s requirements, providing another route for healthcare organizations to participate in the credential ecosystem.
The Legal Entity Identifier is a unique 20-character code defined by the ISO 17442 standard. It identifies a legal entity and connects to reference information about ownership and structure. The vLEI adds cryptographically verifiable digital credentials that can establish organizational identity, roles and the authority of people or systems acting for an organization.
Planned healthcare uses include identifying the legal entity behind an electronic transaction and connecting clinicians, staff, applications and automated systems to accountable organizations. Delegated-authority credentials would communicate defined roles, permissions and healthcare purposes of use, with applications across secure messaging, APIs and automated systems.
The partnership follows DirectTrust’s work with the CARIN Alliance on interoperable digital identity credentials and organizational identity in healthcare. The organizations identify growing exchanges through APIs and AI-enabled applications as a reason to verify both the organization and the authority behind an interaction.
“Healthcare has spent two decades building trusted exchange networks, but organizational identity remains fragmented across disparate directories and individual agreements,” said Scott Stuewe, DirectTrust’s president and CEO.
Sources: DirectTrust
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By the ID Tech Editorial Team
